The Kuwaiti government’s decision to suspend the issuance of new visas for Filipinos was a “surprising” move as it was made without prior notice or explanation, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs said. /PDI
Castro clarified that the suspension would not apply to Filipinos currently holding residence visas or Kuwait civil IDs.He said the Philippine Embassy in the oil-rich Gulf state was officially notified about it only on Thursday, a day after several Kuwaiti media outlets reported the suspension.
The reports quoted a source from the Kuwait interior ministry as saying that the Philippines had “breached the conditions and provisions of the labor agreement” between the two countries. “It was surprising especially because it came out in the newspapers first without the official channels; so it was a little difficult to react because we were reacting to a news article which was not official or coming from the government,” Castro said.As of press time on Thursday, Kuwaiti officials have yet to communicate the alleged violations on the part of the Philippines, how long the suspension will last, or what courses of action should be taken to have it lifted.
In January, Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople reviewed and amended the terms of the country’s labor agreements with Kuwait to add more protection for Filipino workers, following an increase in reported cases of abuse. According to Castro, there are currently close to 300,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, with more than half of them working as domestic helpers, making them the biggest migrant labor force in that country.Your subscription has been successful.
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